This year’s Commencement ceremony was, as in years past, full of anticipation and joy. Yet this year, an added layer of excitement blanketed the proceedings, as it was the Centennial Commencement, the hundredth graduation of Eastern University. The graduates wore cords of red, black and gold to celebrate the Centennial and a banner with the Centennial logo and slogan, “Lasting Legacy, Flourishing Future” hung across the stage.
The student speaker, Leah Laut, gave a beautiful speech on hope, reflecting on her time at Eastern and how this class will move into the future. Our honored Commencement Address speaker, Lord Marvin Rees, reminded us that we are a Christ-centered community and that fact urges us to live by our university motto: Faith, Reason and Justice.
Our Templeton Honors College graduates represented the College beautifully at the ceremony. Aleah Zubrod, Templeton student and music major, read the scripture passage in Arabic.
When asked how she felt about graduating, Aleah shared, “It’s hard to say goodbye. This place has shaped me in more ways than I can say, in ways I am only beginning to recognize. I am going to miss it more than I can describe. But, the reason this goodbye is hard is because I loved it. So I guess in some ways every time I say goodbye or miss college or Templeton or the music department or my friends, what I’m really saying is, ‘I love you,’ over and over again. Goodbye—I love you—thank you.”
A very heartfelt congratulations to all our graduating Templeton seniors!